A New Season

We're entering a new season of life in the Andrejczyk household.

Wednesday saw the kids going to have a second visit with F's birth dad. Apparently, their aunt and one of her friends showed up as well, so they were excited to see so much family. It's so good for them to know that they are loved and being thought of by their family. On the down side for us, they were given lots of Coke from McDonald's, the 2-year old included, and so they were bouncing off the walls and completely out of control for most of the evening. Thankfully, my girl Dana came over and took them for a walk while I made dinner, which was a great distraction for them!

Yesterday, we said goodbye to summer as we walked J into her schoolyard for her first day of fourth grade. She was nervous about returning and as it turns out, mostly nervous that people would look down on her because she's still in a foster home. "What if they think my mom and dad can't take care of me? What if they think no one wants me?" After three months, we're starting to hear her true feelings and worries about her place in life. We feel for her, we really do.

Today is the second court date for their parents. While DYFS hasn't heard anything from their mom, F's dad will be in court today fighting for custody. As the kids' caseworker says, there's really no way to tell which way the court will rule, so we're all just hoping for wisdom and thoughtfulness in her decision. Meanwhile, J is nervous that if she goes home with dad, she'll have to switch schools on Monday. It's a lot for these kids, man, it really is. We're preparing as we did last time in case they do leave today, gathering their things together without making it obvious that we're packing them up, preparing ourselves emotionally as much as we can, spent a good night together as a family last night without announcing that it could have been our last night together. Lots of potential changes.

We have zero plans for this weekend...who can plan with this hanging over our heads? I'll update the blog as soon as we know one way or the other what the court's decision is. In the meantime, I'm taking lots of deep breaths today, trying my darndest to focus on my work and preparing my heart for whatever the decision is. Bring on the rain, right?!